Table Rim Fragments

4th century

Roman or Byzantine

Depictions of hunting and wild animals were ubiquitous in the homes of the wealthy during the late Roman and early Byzantine periods. The theme adorned silver plates, textiles, floors, and furnishings such as these marble fragments, which once formed the rim of a table. Here, the artist has represented a range of animals in combat, including a stag, ram, boar, and dog. The meaning of this imagery changed according to context: in the home it would remind viewers of different forms of entertainment, such as hunting or public games. In a church, on the other hand, it might symbolize the sinful world with its cycles of violence and death.

Status: On View, Gallery 152
Department: Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Culture: Byzantine
Title: Table Rim Fragments
Place: Istanbul (Object made in)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 301 CE–400 CE
Medium: Marble
Dimensions: a: 6.4 × 28.5 × 12.2 cm (2 1/4 × 11 1/4 × 5 5/8 in.); b: 5.7 × 34.6 × 15.8 cm (2 1/4 × 1 5/8 × 6 1/4 in.); c: 5.3 × 31.1 × 19.6 cm (2 1/8 × 12 1/4 × 7 3/4 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Martin A. Ryerson
Reference Number: 1922.4427a-c
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/4702/manifest.json

“The Rim of a Byzantine Basin,” Vol. XVII, No. 4, (Bulletin of The Art Institute of Chicago, April 1923), pp. 38-39.
Catherine Metzger, ”Rebords de Tables Ornes de Reliefs du Musee du Louvre,” Cahiers Archeologiques. XXVI, ed. Grabar, Andre and Hubert, Jean. (Paris: Editions A and J. Picard, 1977), pp. 47-62.
Katharine A. Raff, “Cat. 21 Table Rim Fragments: Curatorial Entry,” in Roman Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2016).

Sotheby’s, London, December 6-7, 1920, lot 314; sold to Joseph Brummer, New York City, 1920; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1922; price reibursed by Martin A. Ryeron, 1922.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.